Romaric Tisserand

3360 TIMES (from M to O) - Set of 1

Description

Numbered and signed copy

No photography, no painting, just a lot of images. It’s the state and the topography of image that is approached, questioned and manipulated by the work 3360 TIMES (from M to O), in its most elementary form, i.e. the digital archive file.

3360 TIMES (from M to O) consists of four letters, M O M O, graphically reminding us LOVE by Robert Indiana. Based on the idea of replica and parody, this fundamentally mechanical artwork gathers all the possible combinations and permutations of 16 colors, chosen arbitrarily from the Kodak chart, and applied to the letter matrix. Thanks to this protocol, 3360 combinations are generated and organized randomly and digitally in 672 sets of 5 MOMO, 1120 sets of 3 MOMO and 3360 single MOMO.

3360 TIMES (from M to O) questions the status of the artist, an archivist of present time, compiler and organizer, who doesn’t want to act as a demiurge, but as a machine, entrusting to math and calculus the task of accomplishing the artistic gesture.

These sets of multiple or solo images, — in total 5152 unique multiples — are supposed to be printed on a framed canvas. The purchaser is invited to take part in the production process, as he has the choice to produce the work physically, reminding of Lawrence Weiner’s declaration of intent in Statements in 1968. Handed over digitally in a PDF file, the work has possibility to be activated over and over again, without any limit.

3360 TIMES (from M to O) distinctly raises the question of the reproducibility and multiplicity of art, redefining its notion of originality and materiality.

Since its conception, LOVE by Robert Indiana paradoxally announces its mortal counterpart, AIDS by General Idea, while VISA by Mircea Cantor precedes MOMO’s 3360 TIMES (from M to O).

Brotherly tribute or destruction of the icon through absorption, the masterwork henceforth only exists thanks to its capacity to be reproduced. It enforces the idea that paintings, sculptures, writing, drawing, or performances are but images that have their own destiny. The consecration of the multitude... OF COLOR.

3360 TIMES (from M to O) - Set of 1

The artwork exists by itself trough a PDF archive file. The printing of the artwork is subject to certain conditions: the print should respect the size of the file (200 x 200 cm) and its CMYK color data. The art work should be printed with inkjet on canvas or any further upcoming technology. The image of the file should cover the whole canvas from edge to edge. The print should be displayed in the middle of the wall.

On request, mfc-michèle didier can take care of the printing of the artwork.

Only one reproduction of the artwork should exist at the same time. In case of sale, transfer or exhibition of the artwork, the former print should be destroyed. The copyright and the authorship of the artwork will still remain the artist’s, even if the physical production of the file has been delegated to the owner. No commercial use of the work nor its reproduction may be done without prior specific agreement by the artist.

First installation at mfc-michèle didier gallery, March 2014, Paris, France